California has sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency for blocking its new rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. California and sixteen other states are trying to impose a 30 percent cut in dioxide emissions by 2016. The EPA announced its decision less than two months after Vice President Dick Cheney and White House staff members held a series of meetings with executives from the auto industry, including the CEOs of Ford and Chrysler. During the meetings, auto executives made clear that they were concerned about California’s proposal for stricter emissions standards.